What He Gained
by WGDWriter
Summary: Feliciano thinks that Ludwig misses his old life, but the blond has gained so much more than he could ever imagine. Mermaid AU/One-shot


A/N: Update on life! I got a second job (not sure if I stated this before...) and I only have one day off per week so updates on Forget Me Not are going to be stagnant. If you haven't already noticed, I already updated chapters 1 and 2. I'm working on chapter 3 but I wanted to give you guys something to read so this is something I was challenged to write while sleep deprived. It's pretty short but it's cute fluff.

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He looked up towards the surface, seeing the sky ripple under the water. It looked so far away, just like the distant memories he had of running along a sandy beach. But unlike those memories, he knew he could swim to the surface and become reacquainted with the air and sky. He'd gotten better at swimming. He didn't even need Feliciano to hold his hand anymore and tell him how to move. All he had to do was give a good kick with his tail and he'd be free.

He felt fingers run across his back until he a pair of arms wrapped around his. Looking down, he was able to see the shining face of Feliciano. His brunet hair moved with the water around them, amber eyes glowing in the midday sun. Feliciano looked up at him, smiling brightly before moving out in front of him with a strong kick of his tail. He watched the brunet swim out, still amazed with how majestic and elegant he looked.

Feliciano looked back, seeing the other's eyes on him and smiled bigger. He found it cute that the other man watched him as if he was performing some great feat. What the brunet did was nothing short of normal, but that wasn't the case for the other. He swam back to him, smoothly going around the other while sliding a teasing hand over his shoulders. Feliciano watched as the other's blond hair swirled in the water as he tried to follow his movements. He could see the other's face brighten up, though the look of amazement was still in the other's blue eyes.

"You were staring at the sky." Feliciano stated as he moved back to the blond's side, looping his arms around the other's arm again. The blond nodded, his gaze looking back towards the surface. Feliciano could see the longing in those blue eyes. "Ludwig. Do you regret meeting me?"

The blond's head snapped to look back at the smaller man. "Why would you think that?"

The brunet shrugged, his gaze looking back towards the surface. "Sometimes it looks as if you would be happier up there…back with the humans."

"I owe you my life Feliciano."

"So I saved you from one measly storm." Feliciano said, swimming out but keeping his gaze on the burlier man who followed, "What's that compared to your happiness?"

"You know that was more than a measly storm." Ludwig said, grabbing hold of the other's wrist to stop him from going forward. Really, this guy moved too much when he talked. Why did he have to swim around so much? "I would have drowned under those waves. When I couldn't move off the beach, you brought me food. I was nearly attacked by a shark but you drove it away."

"And do you remember who saved me from that exact same shark?" Feliciano raised an eyebrow, "It's because we met you're a merman now. I could have stayed hidden and you could have been saved and still been human."

"True, but what makes you think I'd be happier?"

"Don't you miss being human? What about your brother?"

Ludwig looked back to the surface at the mention of his brother. "…Yes. There are some things I miss, but there's one thing that I gained from this whole thing that's more important than any of that." The blond squeezed Feliciano's hand and looked back at him just to see the brunet looking down. "I gained a friend. I would have lost that friend if someone's father didn't figure out and point out the rule that if a human is saved by merfolk, they're to dedicate their lives to them. I may have been upset at first but you were there and you taught me things that I could never learn on my own."

Ludwig lifted Feliciano's head up so he could look into his eyes. "And you remember what happened when your father revealed you were engaged?"

Feliciano looked to the side, though he couldn't stop his smile from forming. "I went into hiding and you followed me."

"And?"

"You're not going to get flustered this time are you?"

"I'm just…trying to prove a point here…"

"You're looking away and I didn't even say anything!" Feliciano laughed, trying to get the blond to look at him this time, "Why do you get so embarrassed about love confessions? Is it a human thing?"

"Said the one who was looking away." Ludwig frowned, though it was playful. He had a small smile playing on his lips the moment the brunet pecked his lips and the blond took hold of Feliciano's hands. "Don't ever think that I'll regret meeting you. I may have lost what I originally had, but I gained so much more and I don't want to lose that. Ever."


End file.
